2018-01-26 17:35:24

@Nocturnus

While I agree with you that Joe's rant about people asking for cracks of A Hero's Call doesn't accomplish anything, it doesn't really hurt anything either. If you don't like what he has to say, no one is making you listen to him, and to disparage him for voicing his opinion as you have done I think does more harm than his original rant ever will or could. Besides, it is his podcast, he has the right to do with it, or to say what he wants on it, as he sees fit and no one, not even you, has the right to tell him what he can or can't do.

2018-01-26 18:16:50

@Orko,
I am fully aware that I don't have the right to tell him what to and or what not to do, but if he has the right to voice his opinion on a podcast that brings in some sort of trafic where he could just as easily take a productive stance rather than a negative one, I have the right to use whatever vehicles I have at my disposal to do the opposite.

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

2018-01-27 01:02:57

I know this post is slightly off topic, but I just purchased AHC for myself. The docs don't say, so I'm actually wondering how the unlocking works in AHC. E.G. how many computers can I have licensed to run the game? If only one, can this license be moved to another computer? I'm not asking this so I can give all my friends my username and password, as I assume that would get my AHC license revoked too quick to talk about. I honestly want to know what I can do with the game I just purchased.

2018-01-27 22:55:51

Orko wrote:

@Nocturnus

While I agree with you that Joe's rant about people asking for cracks of A Hero's Call doesn't accomplish anything, it doesn't really hurt anything either. If you don't like what he has to say, no one is making you listen to him, and to disparage him for voicing his opinion as you have done I think does more harm than his original rant ever will or could. Besides, it is his podcast, he has the right to do with it, or to say what he wants on it, as he sees fit and no one, not even you, has the right to tell him what he can or can't do.

I agree with this 100%

2018-01-27 22:58:54

its not like when you crack a game it sends a note saying fuck you to the devs or anything. just keep on crackin people. I am behind you. its the pirates life for me. shout out to tpb and kickass.

2018-01-28 00:23:16

@JimmyDub Seriously man? You should get a mod warning for righting that. This is why we're running out of games to play.

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2018-01-28 02:12:50

As for what Steinkamp said, I agree with him 100%. If you're low enough to crack a game and not even consider the time put into it, don't even bother responding to me. Good vibes go to the people who participated in the give aways that I was doing and that the mods are currently doing, but if someone cracks games because they feel that the devs owe them the game, then don't bother responding to me. Your posts aren't worth my time and effort.

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2018-01-28 02:25:07 (edited by jack 2018-01-29 00:14:18)

JimmyDub wrote:

its not like when you crack a game it sends a note saying fuck you to the devs or anything. just keep on crackin people. I am behind you. its the pirates life for me. shout out to tpb and kickass.

Coming from the person who griped about paying a dollar for the full version of an Alexa app, I'm not surprised to see a post like that, and can say I am profoundly pissed at the attitude. No offense dude, but you're better than that. It's one thing if you can't afford a game, but coming on here and clearly broadcasting your support for cracking to the entire board? Com on! Oh and just for the record, your references to tpb and kick-ass torrents are a bit out of place. Pirate-havens, yes. But they are technically outside the forum so there is unfortunately no external control over those sources, indeed I honestly fortunately haven't seen much in the way of audio games posted on the torrent sites from what I remember. That being said, when the Steam version comes out I better not see...I'm not even gonna say it because watch someone do it if I let it out. Seriously though. Just buy the damn game, or kindly ask someone to buy it for you, or throw your entry into one of them giveaways, but don't stoop to that low of cracking it, especially ! when the devs put so much time and money into the game and the resources behind it. I'm just gonna play devil's advocate and say I'm surprised that after a beta tester was asked for cracks, and even in the midst of giveaways people still asked for cracks, Out of Sight hasn't just said fuck this and gone on hiatus. But they won't because there are a bunch of honest people who have paid for the game, myself included, whether that be through backing it or buying it at launch, or indeed gotten it through a giveaway as the game is quite obviously still being paid for on behalf of someone. And second, while it does really hurt to have to admit this, any dev knows that software is software and it will eventually be cracked, though with that said can the cracking posts stop now? They shouldn't have even began. And it would obviously be unfair to the paying customers and backers if a dev caved after cracks, though it should be noted that the reason some devs couldn't continue making games is because! of financial inability to continue.
Alright, I'm done ranting, it's off to report this post.

2018-01-28 04:00:35

Mada, I see your situation on all counts. Allow me to point out that I personally believe you shouldn't feel the need to be uncomfortable asking people nicely to buy games for you. You never know who you may come across. Liam, for example, threw in a little over 1 hundred bucks for the I believe it was 5 copies of the game. So there are people who, while they may not admit it out right, are very much well-off to the point of saying well I can sacrifice 4 trips to Starbucks for this guy's enjoyment of a game.

2018-01-28 05:30:17

This just makes me feel like doing it too, whenever I have control over my own money that is. I owe many people what I really should give back by now.

Why do ghost hunters have to hunt ghosts? Well, there's a fear of being ghosted out there. They may need therapy as well as their ghost hunting kit.

2018-01-28 14:57:03

MODERATION!
@JimmyDub, your post is a direct attack on what we do here on this site and what we try to encourage.  Kindly take such statements elsewhere or remain entirely silent on this matter!  should you insist with carrying on in this manner and or we find other evidence that suggests you are in fact, distributing illegal audiogame copies you will be banned indefinitely from this forum!  Yes, this is a warning!

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

2018-01-28 15:29:56

hi,
Honestly for the accounts, I think  that an account portal, similar to office 365, would be  the way to go. With the account portal for 365, there is a detected installs section, where you can see the machine names the lisence is activated on, and deactivate them from there, without physically visiting the machines in question. This would also be useful, if someone guessed a password, or compremised an e-mail. As for the cracking post, I honestly think that it is free speech, as no actual links were shared there.

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2018-01-28 16:48:10

Enes, expressing your views, aka free speech is one thing, but it's quite another to actually encourage people to keep cracking, and that's exactly what he did.

2018-01-28 17:31:32

It's all a balancing act, the good folks create DRM that's reasonably protective, but stays out of your way as much as possible. Others create DRM that's in your face all that time. I would rather not play games like that, use software like that, etc. SO, the best is a balance somewhere between the two. How can we provide reasonable protection against piracy without seriously inconveniencing our customers, that's the question devs should be asking when it approaches that time. Some get the notion they can stop piracy, this is false, completely and utterly, but you can make it harder for crackers. I personally don't like the X number of installs, but I see the reason for it. You don't really own anything you buy anymore that's digital, you just have been granted a license to use it, even if there is no key you have to enter to activate it, you still essentially only have a license to operate it. But the problem comes into play if you forget to deactivate it before swapping systems. I usually end up reinstalling windows every 6 months to a year, I know that's not common though, but its just the way of things for me, installations get screwy, so I reinstall. if I have 5 installs, and I forget to deactivate, that's like 2.5 years or so of installs I get. I shouldn't have to worry about deactivation to be honest, if that user with that key with that machine ID hasn't shown up in say 90 days, you should send them an email which asks if they no longer have access to that system, if they then answer no, they don't, then you essentially reallocate that slot back to them. Some instances mean you're unable to deactivate if you get a virus on your system that makes it useless, and you have to reinstall immediately.

There is always some layer of abstraction between you and the software when DRM is in play, its just, how annoying is that layer to jump through. Some DRM's won't even let you play the game if the computer doesn't have an active internet connection, which seems fine in this day and age, but people do lose power, people do lose service occasionally, what about driving if there are no hotspots and your laptop isn't one that will take a SIM card for connecting to mobile networks. What if you're moving and don't have service, you've pretty much got the place unpacked, but they couldn't get to you in a week, etc. I think its utterly ridiculous that a connection be required. If one is present, sure, use it to validate, send stats whatever, but if not, account for all that stuff in the meantime, and upload it when one is again and the game is launched. If a connection is available at time of activation, that should be good enough. Oh boy do people find out which games work when their internet is out.

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2018-01-28 18:28:31

hi,
Personally, I am 100% against drm. Anything, that restricts my right to use any content I purchase, be it music, or audiobooks etc, is deeply unethical in my opinion. For instance, drm that only allow you to play the books on certain devices or formats. In many countries btw, cracking such drm to allow freedom of use is 100% legal. Also, one thing I forgot to mention I think, is that the office portal lets you deactivate installs. So, if I sell this laptop, all I do is log into my portal, and click deautherize this system, to get rid of that system, and free up the slot. Same thing if someone steals my tech.

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2018-01-28 19:16:35

a lot of them don't though, you have to actually be on the machine you wish to deactivate.

I'm with you in theory, but DRM isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Facts with Tom MacDonald, Adam Calhoun, and Dax
End racism
End division
Become united

2018-01-28 19:29:25

In theory? What do you mean by that?

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2018-01-28 19:48:56 (edited by Dan Gero 2018-01-28 19:50:20)

Nocturnus wrote:

MODERATION!

Just a quick off topic note, have I mentioned that moderation is my favorite word in the dictionary? Moving on...

@JimmyDub, your post is a direct attack on what we do here on this site and what we try to encourage.  Kindly take such statements elsewhere or remain entirely silent on this matter!  should you insist with carrying on in this manner and or we find other evidence that suggests you are in fact, distributing illegal audiogame copies you will be banned indefinitely from this forum!  Yes, this is a warning!

I don't mean to tell you how you should do your job so please don't take it as such, but why just a warning? He has said really stupid things before. Don't all those screw ups add together? Again, it's not my attention to tell you how to run things, just asking a question.

enes wrote:

hi,
Honestly for the accounts, I think  that an account portal, similar to office 365, would be  the way to go. With the account portal for 365, there is a detected installs section, where you can see the machine names the lisence is activated on, and deactivate them from there, without physically visiting the machines in question. This would also be useful, if someone guessed a password, or compremised an e-mail.

Can open office be used for games though?

As for the cracking post, I honestly think that it is free speech, as no actual links were shared there.

It doesn't matter, he was encouraging people to crack games, which is wrong.

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2018-01-28 20:10:47

Enes, I definitely agree with your case about drm being unethical, especially in music and audiobooks, but let's keep in mind you're coming from a completely different angle. Software is a completely different matter altogether. But you also obviously have the extreme use and abuse of drm in the software circles. E A's spore back in 2008, most pirated game of that year thanks to the use of SecuRom and persistent authorization. Starforce, but we all know how that turned out in the end. But without so much as basic drm people are surely gonna pirate the software because, technically, what's stopping them? Too much intrusive drm and people will crack the software simply because the drm, though good people will typically buy the software before breaking the drm, tantamount to buying your music and audiobooks and then breaking the drm. It's why those drm strippers actually look for your account info in the case of older iTunes content to make sure the content is actually yours before stripping it, in other words, it's not gonna strip those m4p's unless you actually bought them.

2018-01-28 20:13:37

Garrett, first of all it's office365. Just making sure no one confuses it with the actual open sourced office project called open offie.c To answer your question, yes, a portal of that sort can be used. If blindgamrs.ceom or guide dog so chooses touse  such a system. I would be in support of that for sure.

2018-01-28 20:25:28

hi,
A correction on DRM, in fact, there are widely used programs that will crack the drm, without needing any account info. I won't give the names of these programs obviously, mainly to prevent them from being reported, and also due to forum policies.

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."

2018-01-28 21:51:33 (edited by jack 2018-01-28 21:52:03)

Those programs aren't the semi-legal drm stripping programs that actually check for a valid purchase. No drm stripping program is ever legal, but that is as close as it gets. Complicated legal definitions concerning copyright are hardly the issue when it comes to audiogames, though, just keep that in mind.

2018-01-28 22:19:30

@shotgunshell and post 93,
If I had seen any of that in the past, I'd probably have banned him far before he ever made post 80.  As it stands, this is the first time I, personally, have had to warn him of anything.  I have no priar record of his offenses; I'm not certain any of the moderators actually keep such a record, in fact, which is why we stay in close contact with one another and why the report option is of the greatest importance to us.  That does not, by any means, mean you should go snitch for every single offense ever commited or drag out a person's history just because because, but we do encourage the use of it, as was done in the case of this topic and post 80

When life gives you oranges, demand lemons since everyone else is obviously getting them.

2018-01-29 03:18:37

@92 I'm not sure if you're asking me to clarify my point, or to explain the literal meaning of the string, 'in theory', so I'll do both. To put the latter first, a theory, is a reasonable guess or supposition that tries to explain the way something works. Usually with some sort of hypothesis involved, a theory implies at least some level of abstract reasoning behind it. So, in theory simply means to disregard the known and practical side of a thing.

With that out of the way, what I meant was that I agree with you in part, but the issue runs deeper. I would call it a bit of an exaggeration to say its deeply unethical, but that's just my opinion. I don't particularly like most forms of DRM, but if its a one and done type thing, and then it lets me get on about my business and use or enjoy the product I've purchased, I'm good with that. As I've said, the issue runs deeper, for instance, the reason there is DRM with audio books and the like is to remain in legal compliance with the wishes of the publisher. If that DRM were not in place, then the publishers could withdraw permission to have the titles distributed by the service that disregarded the terms of that distribution. It would also leave that service open for legal action against them. So, do I particularly like DRM, no, but I understand why it is a thing in today's society.

shotgunshell wrote:

It doesn't matter, he was encouraging people to crack games, which is wrong.

The world is not that black and white. Whether it is wrong or not is certainly your opinion, and you are entitled to that opinion, but no man's opinion is so in the right as to be taken as gospel. I can see both sides of the issue, in fact, I strive to always see both sides of an issue, or a third or fourth side as the situation warrants. Sticking to your opinions, and never allowing yourself to open to the possibility to be proven wrong means that your conviction isn't as strong as you thought it to be. Open your mind to the possibilities around you, and maybe you will see with your eyes wide open, rather than a monochrome image. Certainly it is against the forum rules here, and anyone wishing to remain on the forums ought not to engage in the discussion or the distribution of cracks and their applications, but I can say that there are definitely two sides to this issue. Things in this world rarely are so black and white, shades of gray linger between the polarizing threads of the tapestry of life. You, like everyone else around you need to find your place in that tapestry, where do you fit in, and where do your values lead you? Our values come from two places, those which we were raised with, and those we develop as time goes on. It's fine to have firm stances on issues, I'm not trying to tell you its not, but remember not to allow yourself to become to firm on too many points that you become reclusive, if not physically so, mentally for sure. If you never open up to others' points of view, you stagnate, stagnation is death, all things must move, must remain in motion, no matter how small that motion is. An argument is the ability for one person to present their premise along with their evidence, the other side will present their case, and their evidence. Some arguments are philosophical in nature, some are more practical, in either event, you will either stick to your original precepts, adopt a new way of thinking i.e. become convinced the other side was right, or become unsure. Hopefully becoming unsure means you take the time to research the issue and make a decision.

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End division
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2018-01-29 05:29:17

hi,
Ironcross, I am perfectly aware of what a theory means. What I meant was for you to clerify what you said, which you did. I think that the tacit acceptance of DRM as "inevitable" has lead to it's adoption. I think it should be much more harshly opposed, and outlawed offitially. Anything that restricts my enjoyment of purchased content in any way is completely unacceptable, and should be opposed. Also, though not outright banning it,  portugal has passed legislation increasing circumstances where drm can be circumvented.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/10/p … in-works-0

A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that."